Vancouver-based video game studio Black Tusk Studios will take over development of Gears of War. Epic Games' former director of production, Rod Fergusson will take on a leadership role with the studio.

"Rod has played a leadership role at Epic on all of the Gears of Wars games," says Hanno Lemke, general manager of Black Tusk Studios, in a statement. "He understands the franchise deeply but equally importantly he understands the fans of the franchise – what they love, where they want to see the franchise evolve."

The deal affirms Gears of War will find life on Xbox One, launched by Microsoft last fall. The third-person shooter made its debut on the Xbox 360 in 2006, serving as one of the console's flagship franchises. Microsoft says Gears of War game sales have topped 22 million, grossing $1 billion in revenue. Last year, Microsoft and Epic launched the prequel Gears of War: Judgment.

Meanwhile, Epic Games continues work on the survival game Fortnite, which will be the first available on its new video game technology Unreal Engine 4.